Ship "MS Wissenschaft" 2025: Hereon is on board

On May 14, the ship MS Wissenschaft starts its annual round trip through Germany in Berlin. The exhibition on board is dedicated to future energies, the topic of the nationwide Science Year 2025. The Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon is presenting two innovations: the artificial leaf and metal hydrides for hydrogen tanks. The most important information in an overview.

The Year of Science is an initiative of the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) and the organization Science in Dialogue (WiD). It is dedicated to a different topic each year. This time the focus is on future energies. It is about the importance of research for achieving a climate-neutral energy supply in the economy and society. A wide range of events provide insights into energy research, the latest innovations and findings and promote the dialogue between science, politics, business and society. The MS Wissenschaft is a floating science center that sails through Germany every summer under the motto of the Year of Science. The exhibition includes exhibits directly from research for visitors to try out and participate in.

At Hereon's stand this year, visitors will learn why hydrogen is one of the most promising energy sources for a climate-neutral future, how it can be produced sustainably and stored efficiently. With an interactive exhibit, they can click through the various research areas and get to know the technologies developed at Hereon.

The new Federal Research Minister Dorothee Bär will open the exhibition on Wednesday, May 14, together with Dr. Simone Schwanitz, Secretary General of the Max Planck Society, and Dr. Benedikt Fecher, WiD Managing Director. The MS Wissenschaft will then be moored in Berlin on Schiffbauerdamm between railroad bridge Friedrichstraße and Marschallbrücke. The ship will then be open to everyone from 2 pm. A special highlight is the "Meet the Scientist" event on Friday, May 16. Researchers will be answering questions in person from 10 am to 3 pm. Dr. Mauricio Schieda from the Institute of Functional Materials for Sustainability will welcome guests at Hereon's stand.

At the Institute for Functional Materials for Sustainability on the Hereon campus in Teltow, researchers are developing the artificial leaf for the sustainable production of hydrogen. Photoelectrodes are a key component of the leaf. They consist of several functional materials, in particular a semiconductor for light absorption. When solar energy hits a photoelectrode, an electrical impulse is generated in the semiconductor, which triggers a chemical reaction. Water is split into its components hydrogen and oxygen. This is a nature-based process that is modeled on real plant leaves.

In order to store hydrogen, metal hydride storage tanks are being developed at the Hereon Institute of Hydrogen Technology in Geesthacht. These tanks contain metal powder that chemically binds hydrogen. The metal atoms hang together like a grid. The hydrogen atoms are deposited in the spaces between this grid structure. This type of storage requires less pressure and more moderate temperatures than conventional tanks. On the MS Wissenschaft, visitors can gain exciting insights into how these technologies work.

The MS Wissenschaft is in Berlin until May 18. It will then continue through Brandenburg, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland and Hesse to Bavaria. 29 cities are on the route, which ends in Straubing on September 16. The complete tour plan with all stops, program points and opening times can be found here:

The aim of science at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon is to preserve a world worth living in. To this aim, around 1000 employees generate knowledge and research new technologies for greater resilience and sustainability - for the benefit of the climate, the coast and people. The path from idea to innovation leads through a continuous interplay between experimental studies, modeling and artificial intelligence to digital twins that map the diverse parameters of climate and coast or human biology in the computer. This is an interdisciplinary approach that spans from the fundamental scientific understanding of complex systems to scenarios and practical applications. As an active member of national and international research networks and the Helmholtz Association, Hereon supports politics, business and society in shaping a sustainable future by transferring the expertise it has gained.